Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Your Father's Work History

From Randy over at Genea-Musings:

it's Saturday Night - 

time for more Genealogy Fun!!!

Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to:

(1) Sunday, June 21, 2020, is Father's Day.  Let's celebrate by writing a blog post about your father or another significant male ancestor (such as a grandfather).

(2)  What was your father's occupation?  What jobs did he have throughout his life? Do you know his work history?

(3) Tell us about it in your own blog post, in a comment to this blog post, or in a post on Facebook.

Here's mine:

My father, Gilbert Earl Tapley, never graduated from high school.  I believe he only had a 7th grade education.  His father died when Daddy was only 7 years old, so I am sure when he was old 'enough', he had to help support his mother, sister and himself.  

I do not know a whole lot about my father's work history.  He held a lot of different jobs over the years cause he never stayed anywhere very long.  Let's just say he was not a people person and did not take orders well.  I know he farmed when he was young.  Eventually, he became a carpenter.  What I do have is a resume someone typed up for him in the mid-1960's.  According to it:

1954-1955     Carpenter

1956-1962     Ran service station and grocery store, plus his own bulldozer and dump truck business

1963               Truck Driver; operation of dump truck and bulldozer

1963-1964     Mechanic; overhauling tractors

1964              Mechanic; overhauling Chrysler marine engines

(Now I know why he loved machinery and had to own so much of it when I was a child!  I can remember many, many cars, tractors, backhoe, motor home, and boats, just to name a few.)

Edit:  I spoke with my mother today and she was able to add that during World War II, my father worked at the shipyards in Jacksonville, Florida.  Then when his older brother, John Russell, returned from the war, he joined him in carpentry work.  Daddy actually got his official apprenticeship qualification as a journeyman.  He worked with his brother, building houses, until, it appears, the mid-1950's.    

I know that by the time I was born in 1967, he worked for the City of Augusta, Georgia.   He had two heart attacks in quick succession and was advised by his doctor to decrease his stress level (translation:  get a new job) or he would not live very long.  

So when I was 4 years old, we moved to Jacksonville, Florida, where my father went back into construction.  But it was short-lived.  He quit and became a stay-at-home father until I was 18 years old and went off to college.  

He then worked for the Emanuel County (Georgia) Sheriff's office, part-time, for a few years, transporting prisoners.  Once my parents moved back to Augusta in about 1998, he didn't work again.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun (on a Tuesday night!) - Pauleen's Crazy Month of May Pandemic Meme, Part I

From Randy over at Genea-Musings:

it's Saturday  Tuesday Night - 

time for more Genealogy Fun!!!

Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to:

(1)  Check out Pauleen Cass's blog post, Crazy Month of May 2020: Pandemic Experiences.

(2)  Let's do the first 10 of the prompts and save the last 11 for next week.

(3) Tell us about your own pandemic experience in your own blog post, in a comment to this blog post, or in a post on Facebook. Be sure to leave a link to your work as a comment to this post and also on Pauleen's post.

Here's mine:

(I completely forgot to write this on Saturday, thus this blog is having its genealogy fun on this Tuesday night!  It'll probably be the same next week since I'll be out of town this weekend!  Enjoy!)

(1)  What are you most grateful for during this Covid-19 crisis?

I have several things I am most grateful for:  My mother stayed healthy.  I stayed healthy.  That I was able to work part-time for two months and still be paid!  Cell phones and Internet so we could all stay in touch during this time.

(2)  What have you missed most during the full or partial lock-down?

Not a whole lot.  I'm a homebody so I have enjoyed this time.  However, I did miss going to my book club at the library.  I missed going out and eating Mexican food occasionally.  Most of all, I  had to miss my mother's annual Mother's Day visit.  

(3)  Has your hobby sustained you during this time?

Definitely!  Working on my genealogy is the vast majority of what I did.  I used my extra time at home to sort my family tree pictures and documents on my computer and in Ancestry.com.  I'm still not quite finished with that project, but I am close!  I also went through many Hints on Ancestry.com.  I tried to touch base with cousins and made contact with several!  I made a few new cousin "friends" on Facebook.  My hobby pretty much consumed my time during the pandemic.  

Alas, I only scrapbooked once.  

 (4)  What changes have you seen in your life over May 2020?

I'm cooking more.  I'm snacking more.  I've gained weight.  My days and nights have gotten mixed up so I'm up late and sleep late.  I'm tired and sleepy all the time.   My stress level is higher, and I'm more depressed.  

(5)  Have you been exercising more or less?

If it's possible, less.  I've been spending large amounts of time in front of my computer.  My only exercise has been housecleaning and walking the dog.

(6)  Has the refrigerator been your friend or foe?

A little of both.  

(7)  Have you been participating in virtual gatherings with friends or family?

No, but a lot of phone calls.... almost daily to my mother, several calls with my aunt in Phoenix, and several calls to various cousins.  I had one friend that we kept trying to get together on Skype but our schedules never aligned.  

(8)  Have you taken up new hobbies during the lockdown?

No new hobbies.  I don't have enough time to keep up with the two I have!

(9)  Are you cooking or gardening more?

Definitely cooking more.  Every time I go to a drive thru, they get my order wrong, so it's really not worth going.  Plus the prices have gone up!  

I did my annual pulling of the weeds and trimming the shrub in my backyard.  I put out weed killer and also my hummingbird feeders.  The HOA planted some shrubs and plants in my front flower bed so I have been diligently watering them when it doesn't rain.  

(10)  Have you shopped more or less?  Online or offline?

Definitely more online shopping than usual.  SEVERAL Amazon orders.  Chewy.com usual order.  At least three Lane Bryant orders (They were having great sales!!).  

I have done my usual once-a-month Walmart run each month.  Visited the grocery store a couple of times in between.  I have been to Dollar Tree, Lowe's, Big Lots, and Costco a couple of times.  Always careful to wear my mask and keep my distance from people.  Especially since a lot of people no longer wear masks.  Once the state started easing restrictions, it seemed that Lowe's and Walmart gave up having customers wear masks and keeping a lower number of people in the store at one time.  Or providing hand sanitizer.  

Questions 11 to 21 next week!

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Your Maternal Grandfather's Matrilineal Line

From Randy over at Genea-Musings:

it's Saturday Night - 

time for more Genealogy Fun!!!

Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to:

(1) What was your mother's father's full name?

(2)  What is your mother's father's matrilineal line? That is, his mother's mother's mother's... back to the most distant female ancestor in that line.  Provide her ahnentafel number (relative to you), her birth and death years, and places.

(3) Tell us about it in your own blog post, in a comment to this blog post, or in a post on Facebook.

Here's mine:

(1)  My maternal grandfather was #6, Charles Morgan Tapley (1907-1973).

(2)  Charles's mother was #13, Mattie Schwalls (1877-1912). Mattie was born in Georgia, married Lusion Keman Tapley in 1903 in Johnson County, Georgia, and died in Johnson County, Georgia.  

Mattie's mother was #27, Lincelia "Celia" E. Claxton (1839-1882).  Lincelia was born in Edgefield County, South Carolina.  She married George W Schwalls Sr in 1866 in Edgefield County, South Carolina.  She died in Georgia.

Lincelia Claxton's mother was #55,  Lincelia "Lincely" Bush (1806-1872).  Lincelia was born in Edgefield, Edgefield, South Carolina.  She married Zachariah William Claxton in 1823 in Edgefield, Edgefield, South Carolina.  She died in Johnson County, Georgia.

Lincelia Bush's mother was #111, Mary Frances Miller (1785-1857).  Mary was born in South Carolina.  She married John Bibby Bush in 1800 in Edgefield County, South Carolina.  She died in Edgefield County, South Carolina.

Mary Frances's mother was #223, Martha Martin (1762-1864).  Martha was born in Abbeville, Abbeville, South Carolina.  She married Jacob Miller, date and location unknown.  She died in South Carolina.

Other than the migration to the south, these ladies tended to stay  where they were born.  

I actually was able to find Martha Martin thanks to this blog post and Ancestry.com.  So I was able to take the family back one generation!  

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks (Week 19): Service

Amy Johnson Crow from Generations Cafe is hosting a blog writing prompt this year called 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.  Since I need a swift kick in the you-know-what to get me blogging more regularly again, I thought I'd jump in.  I like that she gives us "permission" to interpret the prompt however we wish and share it however we wish.  It doesn't have to be a blog post; it could be a family video, a letter to a child or grandchild, an e-mail, etc.  I'm probably going to be always behind on this exercise so don't go by the date and week I'm writing about and take it as accurate.  

On this journey of researching my family history, I'm constantly surprised by how many relatives there actually are, the diversity of what they did for a living, and the uncovering of a very interesting (or sad) tale about a cousin or other relative I never met.  Now I know that some people are going to think I have no right to write about someone I have never met just because I am related to them.  And there is some truth to that.  However, I do not write about anyone to judge or to elicit a thrill in my readers.  I write to share the history of my family.  Careers, how many children they had, how many times they were married, their cause of death, if they were murdered, or if they murdered someone... all of that adds to the tapestry that is my family.  Here I'm going to share another story about a relative that I never had the opportunity to meet.

In the email that Amy Johnson Crow sent out about this week's theme, she put some suggestions out there for this topic of Service.  Most people would probably think of military service first.  But then she mentioned service station owners... and the following came to me.

On December 20, 1970, Joe Milton Fletcher, age 59, a gasoline service station attendant, was robbed and murdered for $73 while at work at the station.  He was murdered simply for money and so he couldn't identify who killed him.  His killer's story reads like the stories we read today about criminals, their crimes, and whether they should be paroled. 

William Joseph 'Junior' Pierce was born in Emanuel County, Georgia in 1931.  He was described as a coward who would not hurt anyone who looked him in the eye.  His parents divorced when he was 14, he quit the 10th grade at age 17, joined the Army, but his mother got him out on a hardship discharge within three months, his wife divorced him, and then ended up working at a furniture factory in Swainsboro.  In 1959, Pierce was sentenced to 3-5 years for burglary.  He served 32 months in a public works camp.  After being free only a few weeks, he was arrested again for burglarizing and torching a Canoochee store.  He got 10-20 years in state prison.

While serving his time, he was convicted of other burglaries, and that, along with an attempted prison break, got him 43-56 years.  But in May 1970, Pierce was paroled even though a prison psychologist said he was a possible psychopath who might be a danger to himself or others.

Pierce was arrested less than a year later - on March 13, 1971 - originally for seven murders in south Georgia and South Carolina.  By June, two more murders indictments had been added.  His victims were:

- June 27, 1970:  Ann Goodwin, 19, North Augusta, South Carolina was shot and and killed while babysitting

- July 1970: Virginia Main, 20, Gastonia, North Carolina

- August 1970: James Sires, 40, Beaufort, South Carolina

- December 13, 1970: Margaret "Peggy" Cuttino, age 13, of Sumter, South Carolina disappeared.  When her body was found on December 26, she had been struck on the head and strangled.

- December 20, 1970: Joe M. Fletcher, 59, a Vidalia, Georgia service station attendant who was shot and killed during an apparent robbery.  Joe was married to my 4th cousin, 1x, Dorothy Phillips.  

- December 22, 1970:  Kathy Jo Anderson, 17, disappeared from her Lexington, South Carolina home and her body was discovered February 17, 1971.

- January 12, 1971:  Mrs. Lacy Thigpen, 51, of Treutlen County, Georgia, who was shot and killed during an apparent robbery of a rural grocery store near Soperton

- January 22, 1971:  Helen H Wilcox, age 32, who disappeared from her husband's small country store near Hazlehurst, Georgia.  Pierce himself led the Jeff Davis County Sheriff to Mrs. Wilcox's body after his arrest.

- January 28, 1971:  Vivian Miles, age 60, Appling County, Georgia grocer who was shot and killed during an apparent robbery of her rural store.  Her 5 year old granddaughter was severely beaten but survived. 

Then (1971)

Now (after serving more than 48 years)

In all he confessed to all 9 murders, though he later denied them.  He was given life sentences in seven of the slayings, including Joe Fletcher's. 

Believe it or not, I found that Junior Pierce is still alive and serving his life sentences at Georgia Diagnostic Class Prison in Jackson.  He is now 88 years old. 

Four of his nine victims worked in small country stores or service stations.  Like the convenience stores of today, those stores are dangerous because of either their rural location or the late hours they are open. 

A dangerous person was paroled and then committed murder.  Junior Pierce killed nine people before he was caught.  Nine families destroyed.  The families will never get over the pain of their loved one being murdered. 

A felon was able to get a gun to go on a shooting spree. 

History repeats itself. 

Sources:

* "State Parolee Accused in Seven Murder Cases," Marietta Journal, Marietta, Georgia, May 5, 1971.

 * "Accused killer may await trial until October," The Augusta Chronicle, Tuesday, May 11, 1971.

* "Pierce trial postponed following judge's death," The Augusta Chronicle, September 20, 1971.

* "Cold-Blooded Killer," by Joseph McNamara, Daily News, New York, New York, Sunday, October 3, 1999, page 54.

* "Serial Murderer, now 88, Still in Prison," Jeff David Ledger, Hazlehurst, Georgia, October 23, 2019, online, https://www.jdledger.com/2019/10/23/serial-murderer-now-88-still-in-prison/

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - What is Your Birth Surname Henry Number?

From Randy over at Genea-Musings:

it's Saturday Night - 

time for more Genealogy Fun!!!

Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to:

(1) Do you know what a "Henry Number" is? It is a descendant numbering system from a specific person.  The Wikipedia article for Genealogical Numbering Systems describes it as:

"The Henry System is a descending system created by Reginald Buchanan Henry for a genealogy of the families of the presidents of the United States that he wrote in 1935.[3] It can be organized either by generation or not. The system begins with 1. The oldest child becomes 11, the next child is 12, and so on. The oldest child of 11 is 111, the next 112, and so on. The system allows one to derive an ancestor's relationship based on their number. For example, 621 is the first child of 62, who is the second child of 6, who is the sixth child of his parents.


In the Henry System, when there are more than nine children, X is used for the 10th child, A is used for the 11th child, B is used for the 12th child, and so on. In the Modified Henry System, when there are more than nine children, numbers greater than nine are placed in parentheses."

(2)  Go to your first known ancestor with your birth surname in your software program and calculate your Henry Number from that person. Show each generation of your line of ancestors with your birth surname with their Henry numbers.

(3)  Tell us about it in your own blog post, in a comment to this blog post, or in a post on Facebook.

Here's mine:

First of all, I am going to admit that I had never heard of the Henry System nor have I paid any attention to any other numbering system out there.  It's never too late to learn something new.  

My first known ancestor with my birth surname of Tapley is Hosea Tapley (1691-1778).  Here is my Tapley line with their Henry numbers:

1                                    Hosea Tapley (1691-1778)

13                                 Joel Tapley (abt 1720-abt 1790-1791)

132                               Newhampton Tapley (?-1807)

1321                             Sarah Tapley (1775-bet 1850-1860)*

13211                           George Washington Tapley (1814-aft 1880)

132112                        James Madison Tapley (1847-1912)

1321123                     Lusion Keman Tapley (1870-1935)

13211236                  Gilbert Earl Tapley (1928-2008)

132112362                Mary Elizabeth Tapley (1967-)  ** This is ME!

*Yes, I know something is different on my Descendents report.  There is a woman listed!  That is probably not proper in the serious genealogy research world, however, I can tell you that my family tree is not normal or "proper."  Sarah Tapley had her children out of wedlock.  It is/was well known who the father was, but Sarah never married and chose to give her children the Tapley name.  Therefore, the following generations are Tapleys... and not Swains.  

Also, Sarah had twins.  So I do not know if George Washington was born first or his brother, but the report chose George Washington.  

I actually think I should have been 13211264 because my father had children with a previous wife, but that's not how my software program figured it.  It seems the program has his wives out of order.  

I probably do not have a full listing of children for the earlier generations.  That issue, along with program fallacies such as mentioned above, I'm not sure the Henry Numbering System is for me.  However, it was good to get the exposure to something new.  

I use Family Tree Maker 2019 and used the Descendant Report for this information.  I could choose between four different numbering systems, and the only Henry was "Modified Henry."  I don't know what the modifications are.  

I'm headed to share this information now!  Happy Saturday!

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Which Ancestors Would You Like to Talk To?

From Randy over at Genea-Musings:

it's Saturday Night - 

time for more Genealogy Fun!!!

Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to:

(1) We sometimes find we have questions we would love to discuss with our ancestors - the who, what, when, why, and how questions that might help with our genealogy research.  

(2)  Which ancestors would you like to talk to?  What questions would you ask?

(3)  Tell us about it in your own blog post, in a comment to this blog post, or in a post on Facebook.

Here's mine:

(1)  Of course, the first ancestor I'd like to question is my 2nd great grandfather, George W. Schwalls, Sr. (1837-1908).  I would ask him where in Germany he was from; who his parents and grandparents were; how he came to America and with whom; how did he become an American citizen; and how is he related to the George Michael Schwall that lived one county over?  Oh, and how did he meet his wife, my 2nd great grandmother, Lincelia E. Claxton (1839-1882)?

(2)  My grandmother, Nealie Drake Tapley, 1895-1970:  I would ask my grandmother who were all the people in the unmarked photos she left behind.  

3)  I would ask my 2nd great grandmother, Elizabeth (1824-aft 1880), married to George Washington Tapley (1814-aft 1880) what her maiden name was??

(4)  I would ask my 2nd great grandmother, Elizabeth Caroline Scoggins (1802-1880), married to Solomon Page (1800-1860) who her parents and grandparents were.

(5)  I would probably have some very personal questions for my 3rd great grandmother, Sarah Tapley (1775-bet 1850-1860).  Like how did she deal with having her twin boys (George Washington [1814-aft 1880] and James Marion [1814-1884]) out of wedlock and dealing with the treatment she must have received because of that?  And why she fell for a married man (Canneth Swain, 1770-1831)?  Why did she give the twins her last name when they grew up knowing who their father was?? And what was her mother's name?  

(6)  I would like to sit all the Hosea Tapleys down and ask them which one was which and who was married to whom already?!  Hosea Tapley, 1691-1778, my 6th great grandfather; Hosea Tapley Jr, bet 1708-1710 - 1770, my 6th great-uncle; Hosea Tapley III, abt 1730-1779, my 1st cousin, 6x removed; Hosea Green Tapley, 1767-1799, my 2nd cousin, 5x removed; and Hosea Tapley, dates unknown, my 3rd cousin, 4x removed, son of Hosea Green.  

(7)  My 2nd great grandparents, Charles Kelso Carter (1843-1916) and Sarah Schoonover (1840-1918):  I would ask them if they or their parents knew the biological parents of their adopted daughter, Bessie Alice Carter (1883-1960), my great-grandmother.  If so, who were they???  

 Those are the biggies.  I am sure I'm going to be the one in heaven running around with a clipboard and pen, from ancestor spirit to ancestor spirit, asking them a million questions!

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Your Oldest Family Photos

From Randy over at Genea-Musings:

it's Saturday Night - 

time for more Genealogy Fun!!!

Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to:

(1) What are the oldest family photos that you have?  Can you date them? Do  you know who is in them?

(2)  Show us one or more of your oldest photos and provide a date and the subjects (if you can).

(3)  Tell us about it in your own blog post, in a comment to this blog post, or in a post on Facebook.

Here's mine:

(1)  I believe this is my great-grandfather, James Madison Tapley, 1847-1912.  I have no idea when this picture was taken but it is certainly old.  I wonder if it's from the Civil War era. 

(2)  While I do not know who this person is, I believe he is from the Drake family, as this was one of several unlabeled pictures I found in my grandmother Nealie Drake Tapley's belongings. 

(3)  This picture is of my great-grandparents, James Madison "Jim" Tapley, 1847-1912, and Rebecca Page Tapley, 1844-1924.  I do not know when it was taken

but he passed away in 1912, so it was shortly before then.

(4)  My 2nd great-grandfather, Comfort Ranney, 1838-1920.

                                            

(5) My 3rd great-grandfather (Comfort's father), Luther Boardman Ranney, 1809-1890, and his second wife, Caroline Clapp, 1821-1895.  I don't actually have this picture in my possession; I found it on online.  It is very old.

If anyone reading this wants to take a shot at dating these picture for me, I would love that!